Field Trip
by jesuisl0ser
Summary: Takes place during my fic, Days in the Life of a Five Year Old. Mark and his classmates go on a field trip to the zoo! But what happens when he gets lost there?


**A/N: This is a little OneShot that I felt like writing because, to be honest, I miss the adventures of the little bohemians that I used to write. This one takes place during ****Days in the Life of a 5-Year-Old****. I hope those of you who read all of that fic will take the time to read and review this short one. Even if you haven't read it, it's kind of self-exclamatory. Enjoy!  
****DISCLAIMER: OWN NOTHING!!

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"Okay, children! Eyes and ears to me!" Mrs. Tibbs' shrill voice echoed throughout the classroom as she spoke. Little Mark Cohen glanced up at his teacher quizzically, then at all of his friends sitting around him at their table. Everyone was very, very excited about this particular day. Angel Schunard was beaming to such a point where he looked like he would begin to start flying in midair. Roger Davis, one of Mark's closest friends, had that classic smirk on his face—the one where Mark couldn't tell if he was planning something devious or just feeling happy about something. Joanne Jefferson and Maureen Johnson were whispering things to each other and giggling wildly. Tom Collins had his legs propped up on the table, his arms in the back of his head, looking relaxed as usual. Mimi Marquez, though, was clapping her hands together and smiling.

Mrs. Tibbs continued and Mark listened: "Does everybody have a paper bag lunch with their name on it? If you brought your lunch box today instead of a paper bag, please come up to my desk and I'll get you one."

A cluster of students came running over to Mrs. Tibbs. Meanwhile, Mark and his friends resumed conversation.

"Why do you gotta bring a bag 'stead of a lunch box to a field trip?" Roger inquired.

Tom shrugged. "'Cause the grown-ups don't want us carryin' the lunch boxes around and stuff. And so we don't lose 'em."

"We're going to the zoo," Mimi squealed happily, "I love the zoo!"

"Me too," Angel agreed, "And I like ridin' on the bus."

Mark shook his head in disagreement. "Busses make me throw up."

"Eew!" Maureen said loudly. "Don't throw up, Marky. That's gross!"

"Okay," Mark quickly answered, straightening his glasses. Of course, it wasn't really his decision when it came to whether he'd throw up or not, but agreeing with Maureen was always the better choice in any situation.

Suddenly there was a loud noise coming from the open windows of the classroom, and the children began to cheer. They recognized the sound of the bus wheels outside and ran to line up at the door.

Mark had an almost indescribable feeling in his stomach. He was excited to see the zoo, but he was also a little bit apprehensive. Zoos were big. Mark didn't like big places. He could barely handle going to the supermarket with his mother. Glancing back and forth nervously, he adjusted his glasses once more before following his classmates out the door.

* * *

"Lookit, Tom! A zebra!" Angel grabbed onto Tom's hand and pulled him to the wooden fence as they stood on tip-toe, watching the black and white animal walk back and forth on the grassy floor. "Isn't it pretty?"

Tom laughed. "Yup. It's black and white. Looks like a horsie."

"Zebras and horsies isn't the same," Roger said matter-of-factly.

"I know!" Tom protested. "But it looks like a horsie so that's what I said!"

Mark completely tuned out his bickering friends, as he was distracted by a shiny lion necklace that a little girl walking by happened to be wearing. Without thinking, Mark began to follow the girl, wondering if he could get a lion necklace as shiny as that one.

After a couple of minutes walking, a confused Mark Cohen realized he was lost. Looking around, he didn't see Mrs. Tibbs, any of the chaperones, or his classmates anywhere.

He whipped his head around every which way. "Roger? Mimi?...Angie? Where did everybody go?!"

* * *

"Where's Marky?" Maureen inquired, tugging on Roger's sleeve. Roger shrugged and looked at Mimi.

Mimi thought for a moment. "I saw him at the zebras, but we're already at the _girrafees_!"

"What if he gotted lost?!" Joanne wondered aloud. Everyone simultaneously let out a gasp or an 'uh-oh' and scurried around to find a chaperone. Benny was approaching them as they walked.

"Benny, you seen Marky?" Roger asked.

Benny shook his head. "No. Where did he go?"

"We're tryna find him, dummy," Tom replied flatly before pushing him out of the way to catch up with his friends.

There was so much commotion going on that when the children eventually found Mrs. Tibbs, she couldn't hear them calling for help.

"Maureen, you're loud, so scream!" Angel commanded. Maureen did as she was told and shouted Mrs. Tibbs' name.

Soon Mrs. T stalked over to them and asked, "What's the matter, kids?"

All six of the children began talking at once and it took Mrs. T a while to get the message. "Oh, no! _We lost Mark_?!"

* * *

Mark was sitting on one of the elephant-shaped benches, crying his big blue eyes out. The zoo, as he had predicted, had proven to be a nightmare. Mark didn't care about the animals and the birds and the fish anymore. He just wanted to go home.

But then, something happened that was considered an utter miracle in Mark's eyes. He saw them. His friends. Mrs. Tibbs was leading the group, walking fast in her high heeled shoes.

"Mark Cohen! Thank goodness we found you! You can't run away like that, do you understand?" Mrs. T grabbed Mark's arm and helped him off the bench, lecturing him on and on as the children completely ignored her. Angel ran over to him and gave him a huge hug.

"Marky! We were lookin' all over the zoo for you!" he cried. Mark wiped the tears from his eyes and sniffed, placing a hand on his left elbow.

"Did ya bust your elbow, Mark?" Tom asked.

Mark nodded. "I _falled_. And my arm hurts lots," he whispered.

Roger walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't cry, Marky. You gotta be tough like me."

"Leave him alone, Roger," Joanne snapped, holding on to Mark and making sure he was okay.

Mimi frowned. "You missed the _giraffees_, Marky! They got long necks."

"I know," Mark said quietly.

"But you didn't miss the _jag-you-are_ yet, Marky!" Maureen reassured her friend, smiling at him. She took his hand. "Come look!"

Mark smiled back and followed Mrs. Tibbs and his friends to see the other animals. All in all, the day hadn't gone all that bad. In fact, after seeing the penguins, Mark concluded that he had thoroughly enjoyed this class field trip.

That is, until he threw up on the bus ride back to school.


End file.
